Columbus currently plays at MAPFRE Stadium, the first soccer-specific stadium built in the United States back in 1999. It was a major milestone for MLS and the sport of soccer in the country at the time, but now the amenities are behind those of newer facilities that have opened in the past few years.

Precourt, who bought the Crew in 2013, is now believed to be threatening a move if a deal to move to a new facility in downtown Columbus can’t be made.

A move to the Texas capital would likely come after next season. The club would spend two years in a temporary home before moving to a brand new downtown stadium for the 2021 season. The city is set to vote on a stadium measure in December and again in June of 2018.

Precourt has also rejected attempts to buy the team by a group of local business owners led by Alex Fischer, who revealed that a potential move to Austin is nothing new and has been in the works for months.

“We met with ownership a month ago to discuss their stadium study and plans and ideas for a new stadium in Columbus,” Fischer told SI.com. “Those conversations turned up the fact that ownership had been in extensive conversations over the last number of months with leaders in Austin about a possible new stadium and moving the team there.”

Discussions will continue with local leadership in Columbus to try and stop the move with a new stadium, but that won’t slow down Precourt’s discussions with Austin. Some in the city believe Precourt has no intention of keeping the team there, and is simply dangling the possibility of staying in order to maintain fan interest in 2018, which is shaping up to be the team’s final season in Ohio.

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18 comments

Old School

“The Dispatch also reported that Precourt paid a premium price of $68 million for the team in 2013 because he intended to move it.” (from a actual news outlet)
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I’m somewhat torn on this. From an ownership perspective, if you have a fanbase that isn’t supporting the product and you’ve recently purchased the club I understand the consideration.
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However, from a fan perspective, has the ownership done everything in their limited MLS power to support the fanbase by putting a quality product on the pitch?
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When the primary focus of the league is about money, and not quality, it’s not a good sign for the future of small market clubs.

Really not a fan of relocating clubs due to an owner’s preference. If there is a Chivas USA situation where the club is failing then there is some merit to this idea. This owner seems like he is just trying to squeeze every dollar out for his “investment” though.

They played in the MLS Cup final just a couple years ago and always play a good attacking style so the product isn’t unappealing. If he’s losing money he has to do something about it. I would at least try a rebrand first though as the Crew have always been somewhat of a laughing stock with those terrible uniforms and logo.

I live in a world where MLS is bland, embarrassingly poor technically, homogenized beyond belief and ran by a commisioner that has delusions of grandeur where muppets by into his snake-oil salespitches and create user names that proclaim people should stop “complaining” (see: speaking the truth) about the product.
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That’s the world I live in. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to live in your mental utopia of delusion and believe otherwise.

I live in Austin, and the article is correct. Votes are coming up for the stadium and unless Precourt does something stupid, it will likely pass. I’d have to look up where exactly they would build the stadium, but the city is constantly renovating downtown.

All I know is it will likely be a home run, unlike building a stadium out in Del Valle like the USL club is trying to do…

This would be a no-brainer for owners and players. Columbus has little appeal compared to Austin, TX. Real estate is also much cheaper so these players will get a better bang for their buck. If you are trying to get an European star to join your team, I think Austin is more intriguing than Columbus, OH.

Not a fan of holding the city for ransom. Been through it and lost out with a Seattle team.
Very unethical in my opinion. Would be surprised if the team doesn’t suffer attendance wise due to owners greed.

Amazing that MLS has decided to murder soccer in Columbus with a callousness that would even make the NFL blush less than a week after the USMNT failed to qualify for the world cup. As a fan that’s still bitter about Rawlins taking the 1st Aztex team to Orlando, I can’t imagine how any decent Austinite could support what’s happening, much less pay for it. I will be voting against any public money for any stadium

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